Lynda Cashford and Jackie Hales formed their partnership in September 1991, developing a specialist behavioural service for adults with a learning disability and additional behaviours which challenge community services. Our background within this field was mainly acquired from our Registered Nurse training within the Learning Disability field and our working lives within Maidstone Health Authorities Primary Care Trust (Learning Disabilities).

Our Philosophy of care whilst developing the service, was based upon the belief that an ordinary quality lifestyle, could be provided within the community for some of the most difficult to place people.

Since 1991, we have developed four homes within both the Medway and Swale area. Service users from within the local catchment areas are prioritised for placement, however placements are offered to other commissioners of services. With many London boroughs placing service users within our homes due to the lack of good quality behavioural services that offer residential care. We are recognised as offering both an excellent service but also value for money.

» Mission Statement

The Mission of Insight Specialist Behavioural Service is to provide adults who have intellectual impairments and additional behaviours that challenge services the opportunity to achieve meaningful and rewarding lives.

Insight is committed to providing a service within valued community settings and supporting people to access generic health, education and leisure facilities within the locality of their home.

Insight will achieve this through the empowerment of the people it serves by protecting and valuing their right to individuality, safety and respect.

Insight will be transparent in all aspects of its business and provision of care.

» Strategy and Aims

Insight is totally committed to offering people with learning disabilities and Severe Challenging behaviour(s), the opportunity to live within the community and which provides a home like environment.

For this purpose four individual properties have been purchased, situated in socially valued areas and close to all local public services and amenities.”

Our service offers people the opportunity to take control of their own lives and to actively participate in the day to day decisions which affect them.

Formally, services have placed low expectations on people labelled as having a learning disability and additional challenging behaviour. This has meant that their potential for growth and development has been denied with the inevitable result that they have become stigmatized and devalued by society, with the main emphasis of care being that of containment of behavioural symptoms, rather than a systematic approach focused on the causations of the behaviour.

Our service is underpinned by firstly the declared belief that all people with learning disabilities irrespective of the degree of learning disability or challenging behaviour are capable of substantial growth and development, and that this continues throughout life.

Secondly, the only appropriate model of care which can realise in practice this philosophy is the model based on an ordinary home in the local community, which also provides specialist behavioural support.

Thirdly, our service philosophy states that the consumer, i.e. service user/ client, has the fundamental right to challenge all aspects of service provision, and that it is the duty of the service to adapt and modify itself to the changing needs and wishes of the consumer.

Insight places great emphasis on clients being given the dignity and respect that is their right. This belief has profound implications on the way the service is run. In practice this means staff and clients participate as equals in all ordinary activities associated with living within an ordinary home. To this end clients will receive constant encouragement to become more independent and to exercise their choice over the environment. This will be backed up by constant support and guidance.

It therefore follows that each individual will be presented (IN SOME CASES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THEIR LIVES) with an appropriate level of challenge and that normative risks will be taken as would be found in any home. Central to this is the services commitment to Person Centered Planning, which puts the individual client in control of setting personal goal’s both for short and long term achievement.

» Our Values

PHILOSOPHY:

The service is based on the model of an ordinary life.

The model is further based upon the principle of normalisation which will be realised in practice and will aim to achieve an increase in the client’s individuality by;

1. Taking risks and making mistakes.

2. Making decisions and exercising choice.

3. Being treated with dignity and respect.

4. Permitting the development of appropriate sexuality.

5. Having the right to privacy and personal space.

6. Forming relationships within the community.

7. Improving social/life skills.

8. Becoming a valued member of their local community.

9. Being given the opportunity and support to enable challenging behaviours to be replaced by socially accepted and appropriate functional equivalents.

Essential to this model is the encouragement of a feeling of belonging by each individual. The staff within the service will provide both support and encouragement while continuously reinforcing the clients self esteem and confidence.

Insight place the rights of those people living within the service at the forefront of our Philosophy of care. We seek to advance these rights in all aspects of the environment and the services we provide and to encourage our clients to exercise their rights to the full.

» Working Partnerships

Service Users

Each individual service user is provided with the opportunity to take control of their life and to actively participate in day to day decisions and activities.
Each home is based upon the model of an ordinary life and upon the principle of normalisation, which will be realised in practice and will aim to achieve and increase each service users individuality by supporting them to:

• Taking risks and making mistakes
• Making decisions and exercising choice
• Being treated with dignity and respect
• Permitting the development of appropriate sexuality
• Having the right to privacy and personal space
• Forming relationships within the community
• Improving social life skills
• Becoming a valued member of the community
• Being given the opportunity and support to enable challenging behaviours to be replaced by socially accepted and appropriate functional equivalents

We will encourage a feeling of belonging by each individual service user, staff members within the service will provide both support and encouragement while continuously reinforcing each service users self esteem and confidence.
Insight aim to provide a life style which satisfies social, cultural, religious and recreational interests and leads with additional promotion on positive interactions between the service user and the service provider (staff).

Families and Friends

Families and Friends will be supported to enable appropriate levels of contact and involvement regarding day to day matters and long term goal planning, this support will be facilitated by either the registered home manager, key worker or care management. Close working relationships will be developed with the families and friends of each service user.

Regular six monthly reviews will be held and at which friends and family can play a part in planning both long and short term goals.

Jackie Hales sits on the board of directors at the Kent Challenging
Behaviour Network.

Jackie Hales is a trained "best interest" assessor under the Deprivation of
Liberties Safeguard for Kent Social Services.

» Carers

It is essential that each team member has a belief in our philosophy care and will enable each service user the opportunity to live a quality lifestyle. Carers will be supported to gain sufficient knowledge and skill to meet our service user group. We are an equal opportunities employer and an Investor in People.

» Care Management and the Care Quality Commission

Insight’s working relationship with both agencies has a long healthy history this relationship enables both high levels of care to be maintained and an ability to plan for the future.

Care Management are part of our multidisciplinary team for individual care reviews and person centred planning.

We continue to be monitored by the Care Quality Commission being recently awarded 3* status for all four homes.

Care Management are part of our multidisciplinary team for individual care reviews and person centred planning.

We continue to be monitored by the Care Quality Commission.

We have recently successfully completed our re-registration with the Care Quality Commission.